Give prunings a new life

We are now settling into that time of year Christian Rosetti calls the bleak midwinter, when the joy and excitement of Christmas wanes into frigidly cold days when all you want to do is spend time outdoors, but the cold makes that impossible. At least in Arkansas, this weather doesn't persist continually until spring. Here, we have random 70 degree days, interpersed with the days down in the low 20's. On those warmer days of winter, Gabriel and I always end up in the yard, looking for something to do. Often, we end up pruning our trees.

One of my favorite crafty things to do has been to make the pruned branches from our yard into home decorations. Not only does it give the branches a new life, but they are natural decorations that don't have a shelf life - they look good indefinitely.

Here are a few of our past creations. Some are easier than others, but none of them were particularly difficult to make.

This is Barnaby, the porch reindeer and watch dog. For Christmas, he sported a jingle bell. In the spring and summer, he'll be moved to the backyard to keep an eye on the garden.
Gabriel made him in an afternoon and had a ridiculously good time. Barnaby is made from hickory and wild cherry.

Perhaps the easiest decoration, but also one of my favorites, is my bucket of branches. Gabriel really doesn't like them since he tends to get caught on them. I have never had that problem. And they look so nice. However, once Liam finally learns to crawl, they'll have to go elsewhere.

These branches are all mulberry clippings. Simply clip, gather, and put them in the bucket. Easy.

This wreath goes on the door every winter when I take down the evergreen one I make for Christmas each year. It is made of mulberry branches (when they are fresh cut and still pliable) with raffia ties.

This coat rack is Gabriel's latest creation, which also only took only an afternoon. It is made from wild cherry.

I hope our ideas inspire you to try your own. For more Thrifty Green Thursday ideas, visit the Green Baby Guide by clicking here.

Alabama

Only three days after getting home from San Diego, we left for Alabama to visit Ben, Carolyn, and little Grace, who it turns out is not so little :-) She is 8 weeks old and weighs 15 pounds...that's only 2 pounds less than Liam who is 9 months old! She is super cute and amazingly calm and content most of the time. It must be all that extra padding keeping her warm and happy (maybe that was Liam's problem, since he has always been so skinny and fussy).

Here they are together. Liam still isn't pulling up on things, but he balances really well when we prop him up.

I made Grace these pants for Christmas out of a recycled sweater.
I made Carolyn a Mei Tai wrap to carry Grace around in. It turned out really nice and Grace eventually learned that it is great for snuggling.

While Carolyn and I stayed busy cooking, taking care of the little ones and sewing the new carrier, the guys won a number of levels of Super Maryo (a free internet knockoff of the original). Apparently, it was really exciting :-)

They also played Settlers of Catan. Liam helped Gabe win.

Liam was really glad that Auntie Linda came along. Lots of kisses.

All set and ready to go for a trip.

We had a great time, but we are definitely ready to be home for a while.

Sloppy Lentils

Last night I made sloppy lentils on homemade hamburger buns for dinner, along with a side of oven-baked sweet potato fries.

Lately, Liam has been particular about his foods. Not that he is picky about what he does and doesn't like to eat. He likes just about everything. No, the problem is that he has a particular food in mind, and when I give him something different he gets angry. Often, this turns into a guessing game of which food my 9-month old is thinking of at the moment. I know, I know, I shouldn't give into his demands. He should eat what's served. Right? Well, at the same time I want him to learn that food is good, and I don't want to turn him off to trying new things by forcing him when he is unwilling.

So, enter the lentils and sweet potato fries. He has had the fries before. The last time, he threw them on the floor and handed my second try to Dahlia, who knows where to patiently wait beside his high chair. This time, however, he gladly snatched the fry from my hand and shoved it into his mouth. I could hardly keep them coming fast enough.

Then it was time to try the lentils. I scooped some onto his little bamboo spoon (I thought about letting him try a bite of the sandwich, like Mama and Daddy, but then opted for the less messy option...). When I moved it toward his mouth, he began waving his arms excitedly and his mouth popped open. I gave him the lentils. He tested them in his mouth for a few seconds, and then chomped ferociously, demanding more, and then more and more again. He ate a good serving of it.

Apparently, Liam loves sloppy lentils. Maybe you will, too.

The original recipe is from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker, but I often make it on the stove top when I forget to get it going in the morning...
I actually prefer the red lentils for this recipe, but you could also use the small French puy lentils or make it with the brown as the recipe directs.

Sloppy Lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized yellow (or red) onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (my addition)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
One 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes (I use Muir Glen's Fire Roasted, mmm...)
3 cups water
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tbsp prepared mustard
1 tbsp sweetener (honey, brown sugar, sucanat, agave... your choice)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1.Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper; cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder, stirring to coat. Cook 1 minute longer.

2.Transfer the onion mixture to a 3.5 - 4 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Stove top variation:
1. Follow step one as above, but do so in a large saucepan, or, better yet, in a dutch oven.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve on hamburger buns for a yummy and messy meal, which we often eat with a fork in hand. Serve with sweet potato oven fries.

Something new...

Check out my new blog.

Don't worry, I'll still post pictures here.

Something new...

For my New Year's resolution, I've finally decided to break this writer's block.

I haven't really written much of anything since JBU. Partly because I was just weary of the mental effort. Partly because I am lazy. But mostly it has been just an inexplicable mental avoidance.

I suppose a lot of it has to do with the shift in my roles: from full-time academic to full-time Mom. I love both lives, but I haven't really tried to merge the two. I earnestly love staying at home with Liam. I find it entirely fulfilling. I love everything domestic (well, I don't really like housecleaning...). I am content at home with my son, my knitting, my garden, my cooking. It is a fantastic life. One which I enjoy even more than school.

But still, I know I need to be writing. So here I will attempt to chronicle the going-ons of a homemaker. Journaling has never been my strong suit, but I will make a go of it.

So here we go.

Dog Beach

Our last day in San Diego was my dad's birthday. We took the dogs to dog beach in Coronado. It was windy, but we all had a great time.

Daphne was excited to see me and Gabriel, but she was not happy to see Dahlia. She obviously loves being a California dog!

Dahlia had a fantastic time running on the beach. The last time we took her there she was a teeny tiny puppy, and she did not like getting all that sand on her nose... but now the beach is nothing but fun!

Molly knows how to capture the moment...

Beautiful.

Liam loves to have his fingers kissed, especially by Grammie.

Sisters.

Like I said, it was windy.

Happy 50th birthday, Papa!

Giving Uncle FoFo a left hook.

After the beach we went out for lunch at Jalisco's, a yummy Mexican restaurant. The moment we walked in the door, Liam projectile vomited all over himself, Molly, and straight onto the floor next to some poor diner's table... It was very gross.

Regardless, we had a nice lunch, then it was back to the Halls to pack up and leave.

We left San Diego at 5 that night, and made it just past Flagstaff before we stopped for the night.

A word on driving across the country with a nine month old: just don't do it if you can avoid it! But if you must,driving while he sleeps is the only way to do it. On the trip out we drove straight through the night. 27 hours, non-stop! Yes, it's crazy, but it was the only way we could get there without enduring screaming.

We finally made it home at 3 am Sunday morning. Arkansas had never looked so good...

On the road again...

San Diego Fun

Our Element's first oil change... Gabriel got all gussied up for it...

We went out to eat at a fantastic Thai restaurant in Hillcrest called Amarins. Liam found another use for the flatware holder.

Liam really enjoyed getting to know his cousin Hannah, who is 10 months older than him. They smiled at each other, shared toys (sometimes...), and Hannah gave him spontaneous smooches on the lips!

Such a cutie!